• In an effort to “send a message of inclusion to its widely diverse fan base,” the NBA champion Toronto Raptors said they are the first NBA to offer an athletic hijab for Muslim women. The Nike Pro Hijabs with the team’s logo were inspired by the Hijabi Ballers, a Toronto-based non-profit organization dedicated to "celebrating and increasing the involvement of Muslim females in sports." “Inspired by those brave enough to change the game” the team posted to its social media platforms along with a video of the Hijabi Ballers in action.

• Greenleaf Foods said it has signed a deal with the Los Angeles Rams to become the first plant-based food brand to officially partner with an NFL team. As part of this partnership, Greenleaf’s Lightlife Burger will be available at Rams home games this season, beginning Sep. 15 during the team’s 2019 home opener ( agasint tthe New Orleans Saints). Lightlife plant-based protein products will also be featured in the Rams Game On! Program at Albertson’s, Vons, and Pavilions.

• The NFL and Facebook have signed a multi-year partnership extension that will “deliver more diversified NFL video content to fans worldwide through Facebook Watch,” expanding a relationship that began in 2017

The NFL will continue distributing recaps from all 256 regular season games, as well as playoff games and the Super Bowl; plus video highlights from such postseason tentpole events las the Pro Bowl, NFL Scouting Combine and NFL Draft. The NFL will also utilize Facebook Watch for distribution of an array of unique content including NFL news and analysis, Video versions of NFL-produced podcasts and classic and special NFL 100 content.

In addition, the NFL will create Facebook Groups around content themes and work to share relevant video in those groups.

• American Airlines will not renew its naming rights deal with the venue that is home to the NBA’s Miami Heat, which has been AmericanAirlines Arena since it opened in 1999 via a 20-year deal valued at $42 million, according to Miami Today. The team and Miami-Dade County executives are in “advanced talks”with another national company. American will remain the official airline for the Heat.

• Bowlero Corp,, the leading owner and operator of bowling centers in America, has acquired the Professional Bowlers Assn. which has been in operation since 1958. Bowlero said, “All scheduled tournaments and programming will continue, with plans to build upon key initiatives including the PBA's groundbreaking Fox Sports partnership.” Full story here.

• Marshawn Lynch has been named as the founded for the expansion Oakland Panthers of the Indoor Football League, with the team beginning play in February 2020 in Oakland (formerly Oracle) Arena. The NFL Raiders are moving from Oakland to Las Vegas beginning with the 2020 season. Full story here.

• The Paley Center for Media, NY, will honor the 100th season of the NFL with a new exhibit: "A Century of Football: Celebrating the NFL’s 100th Season," free and open to the public (Sept. 14-Oct. 27), which includes the first public screening of the only known complete broadcast of Super Bowl I (then known as the AFL-NFL World Championship Game) in January 1967 between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs

• Pete Frates and Pat Quinn, co-founders of ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, have launched with The ALS Assn. the 5th anniversary of “Challenge Me” with a “new call to action to reignite the passion and generosity of the millions of people who dumped ice water on their heads in the summer of 2014.”

Through “I’m Here to Create,” adidas said it want to "empower athletes across the world to declare how they bring creativity to sport and to celebrate those in their life who have inspired them to push beyond the norm."

The effort is an extension of adidas’ three-year brand plan that launched in 2015.

“We remain relentless and loud in our pursuit of being the world’s best sports brand,” Lia Vakoutis, senior director-global communications for adidas, said in a statement. "2015 was about challenging athletes to create their own game while 2016 focuses on owning creativity in sports. The ‘I’m Here to Create’ films engage athletes’ imaginations to use creativity to push their own athletic and personal boundaries."

The campaign is anchored by spots featuring each participating athlete. The 15- and 30-second spots for each athlete will air globally in more than 50 countries during key moments, including UEFA Champions League, The Grammys, the BRIT Awards and the Oscars.

Support includes Internet and social media, including Twitter (#heretocreate), Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, where visitors view all films in the series. Lead agency is 72andSunny.

The spots with each athlete are shot almost as selfless, with the women sharing details about who they are and what they want to achieve.

“Who I am is not defined solely by what I achieve on the tennis court,” Wozniacki offers in her spot. “My passions and creativity off the court inspire me to be a better athlete and this film series brings together everything that makes me uniquely me. It is exciting and inspiring to be part of a larger group of women who share this same creative mindset.” (See the full spot here.)

Parker’s story centers on her redefinition of motherhood. Bronfman explores her continuous path of reinvention to create the unexpected. Arzon reveals how she has reinvented herself through sport after an almost near-death experience. Winhoffer re-shapes traditional workout routines to engage broader audiences in sports.

"We will continue to celebrate athletes and influencers who reshape traditional views of sport through creativity this year," said Vakoutis.